when he took off came through to her also, and her smile deepened. "I'm proud of you too, William," she whispered.
William had for himself decided where he would go. He was able to find the castle and the village without a problem, as those were the fixed stops on the rounds. He also wanted to visit Mirror Lake once more, the strange silver lake that never seemed disturbed. It had made a profound impression on him, and the memories of the silly splashing were too good not to follow up again.
His approach of the castle was not as bold as Hilda would have done. Not as fast either. He did make the complicated slalom through the forest of towers though and was thrilled that he managed that flawlessly. There was no one in the garden or near the fountain. Of course, he was later than usual, so the king was probably busy with kingly affairs.
Still, William hovered near the top of the fountain, just for the thrill of it, challenging the fates on his own. He let his mind drift, deciding he would entirely trust the magic in and around him to make him respond.
Hilda sat upright in her bathtub, with baited breath and sparkling eyes.
Something happened. The door of the castle moved. William knew. His magical instinct had expanded and grown. As the first inches of water were coming up from the highest point of the fountain, his broom was already moving upwards. The water touched the end of the broomstick, lapped at the tip of his cloak, but he was up and away, out of the reach of the water. He laughed. And he let his magic enhance his laughter, making it boom over the area. It was so loud that he was almost shocked by it himself.
"Squeeeee!", yelled Hilda. She threw the dragon in the air. For a moment it wore something blue.
William knew he had outrun the water and spiraled down to the king who had run out and was gazing upwards.
"Wizard William," he said, "where is Grimhilda?"
William dropped his hood back, using magic. "The witch had other things to do, so she asked me to make sure that things are well. Are things well, king Walt?"
Walt grinned and nodded. "Things are well, William. More than well, as I almost had you!"
"That you did, king," William admitted. "You are improving every time."
"One day, William, one day I will have both of you, dripping wet!" Walt's face showed his joy with the mere thought of it.
"We will celebrate that day, king Walt. And for now, I wish you a good day." William put the hood over his head and flew his broom off, at the highest speed he dared. Not as fast as Hilda could do, but still considerable for someone who was in training for about a month.
"He loved that," Hilda told the dragon and kissed it on its snout. Then she lay back in the water, heated it up again and waited.
William felt good. The first stop had gone well, very well. His adrenalin level had risen on the ride straight up from the fountain chase, and it refused to come down. With wide swoops, as if he was testing the handling of a car, he made his way to the village, keeping an eye on the area in case there was something that required attention, or even intervention. Nothing of the kind was there though, so he reached the village that lay calm and peaceful in the mild afternoon sun. He hovered over the market square for a while, remembering the first action he had participated in while Hilda had wielded her magic with the vegetable thieves. The smile on his face was hidden from the people walking by beneath him.
"Oh, he still remembers that," Hilda said to the dragon. "I didn't know it made him feel so good about knowing me. Do you feel good about knowing me too? Hmm?"
William set course to the more busy streets in the village, where lots of people were now engaged in their shopping and selling. He thought for a moment about floating through one of the streets so people could see him, but he was not certain if that was a good idea at this point.
"Do it, William, do it," Hilda whispered, hoping she could encourage him through the link, even if he did not sense her through it. "Just go to the street, show yourself."
William slowly glided downwards, dropping into a calm spot in the street. What had given him the push, he didn't know. He did enjoy having done it, slowly flying through the street on his broom. He looked left and right, taking in the sights of the people and the stores, the goods in the stalls, the smells and the sounds. People looked at him and nodded, greeted him and made sure he could pass through everywhere.
At the end of the street he looked left and right. Left was very busy, right was relatively calm. His first impulse was to go right and avoid the bustle, but then, if something were to happen it would be in the busy part. So he turned his broom to the left.
"Good boy," Hilda nodded, her head against the cushion that she had stuck between the tub and the wall, her eyes closed, and the dragon floating snout down among the purple bubbles.
A man who was trying to lift the lid off a large barrel was pushed by his mate who did lookout. "Stop. Bad news."
"What? The witch?" The question came in a whisper.
"No. The wizard," the lookout said.
"What's worse," the thief whispered, "witch or wizard?"
"What the hell do I care," said the lookout, "I'm out of here, you wait and find out if you want." He disappeared in the crowd.
William floated up to the man who apparently had a problem lifting the lid from a barrel and for a moment was tempted to help him with some magic. Then he rethought and decided that the man had to handle his own.
The thief, his hand still on the lid, saw the hooded figure on the broom hover in front of him. He knew that the eyes of the magical person were on him and he did not dare to move. The thief knew that the man's gaze could burn right through him. He had heard of things like that happen, and now he was facing a similar fate.
"Next time," William said with a magically enhanced voice, "you will be dealt with." Then he flew on through the busy street.
The thief wet himself.
William left the street and then the village. He raised his broom up high into the air, content with how he had done in the village and found his way to Mirror Lake. He slowly soared over it, looking down at his reflection. There were a few people sitting near the waterline. He decided not make any sudden moves, there was no reason to upset them, he thought. Or was there...
"Spoilsport," Hilda muttered.
Something inside him stirred, rummaged in the box with wicked streaks and served up a grin to his face. In a wide circle he reached the grass and then the broom with the hooded figure jumped forward. William raced his broom over the people, at a height he could certainly not touch anyone. The screams and shouts made him laugh his booming laugh and then he shot up over the trees, heading for the by now certainly pink and wrinkly witch. The people would not forget him.
Hilda had a big grin on her face as she climbed out of the tub and tapped the 'empty' plaque.
39. Responsibilities
William came into the house, holding his broom in hand.
Hilda sat at the big table, a large pot of tea hovering over a candle, a big smile on her face as she saw him come in. "Hello, wizard. How did you go?"
After putting his broom away and taking off the cloak, he sat down. "Thank you," he said as Hilda poured him tea. "I think it went well. I outran Walt's fountain, went through some streets in the village and scared some people at Mirror Lake. Oh, this is really nice tea."
Hilda, supporting her face with her hands, elbows leaning on the table, stared at him with a dreamy smile. "I'm glad you had so much fun, William."
"Yes, it was fun, indeed. With you there too it is better, but this was... special." He winked.
Hilda saw that he was sporting much more confidence about his abilities now. Amazing, after such a simple trip out alone, she thought. "So you actually went and scared people?"
William grinned, a blush spreading over his features. "I just couldn't help myself. I think you are rubbing off on me or so, I would never have done this in my previous life."
Hilda got up and walked around the table. As usual, she squeezed he
rself between the table and William. She put her hands around his face and kissed him. "Good for you, sweet man," she then said. "It's about time that you loosen up a bit more about all this. the ordinaries have some responsibilities and some fun. We have the big responsibilities so we should also have the big fun."
William looked in her black eyes. There were no sparkles of any colour, so she was very serious. And he understood what she meant. The work of the local witch was not just flying around and doing crazy stuff by challenging the king and his fountain. It also consisted of locating evildoers, taking care of them in a way that they were not harmed (but that might depend on the situation), and handling a lot of issues around the village. Like trying to find the flower-witch that had disappeared, Fidelma. "Yes, I understand that," he said. "I really do."
"I know," she said, and kissed him again.
He slipped his arms around her. She smelled nice and heat seemed to radiate from her. "How long did you stay in that tub?", he asked, and she giggled.
"Very very long."
They sat like that for a while, enjoying each other's presence, until a singing chime sounded through the room. Hilda looked up, frowning. "Ah, please, not now..." She slipped off William's lap and walked to the crystal ball, while William poured the both of them some fresh tea.
"Hi Drago, what's up?", he heard Hilda say. He had never heard of someone called Drago.
"What?!" Her outcry was so loud that